India’s aspiration of becoming a five trillion dollar economy in the near future is not possible without adequate focus on higher education, said C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, here on Friday.
Quality education
Outlining a 10-point programme, which according to him could be adopted by Indian universities to achieve excellence and move up in global rankings, he said that the advantage of the demographic dividend of having 850 million young people in India will positively impact the economy and society, only if there was quality education that will produce research, solve problems, and lead to sustainable job opportunities.
The 10-point programme he outlined, included ensuring transparent admissions, internationalisation, hiring of talented faculty from India and across the globe, diversity and inclusiveness, increased research output and efficient ways to measure quality.
Global rankings
Pointing out to the recent disappointment over none of the Indian universities finding a place among the top 100 in popular global rankings, he said it was important for Indian varsities to embrace international ranking framework as well as international accreditation processes, which will benchmark Indian institutions with top universities in the world.
Highlighting the importance of academic institutions in society’s progress, Tom Goldstein, Dean, Jindal School of Journalism and Communication, said the contribution of leading universities in the United States to the development of knowledge and economy not just for the U.S. but for the world at large is deeply significant.
